FISHERMEN and nature-lovers fear that a lake partially drained in the search for the body parts of murdered taxi driver Anthony Whitefield will not be refilled.

Water was pumped out of Roding Lake, off Greensted Road, Loughton, over the weekend, as police combed it for parts belonging to the 47-year-old father-of-five, after two of his arms were found there two weeks ago.

But a spokesman for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, which pumped the water out, said it had not been asked to replace it.

Angler Lee Nichols, 32, who regularly fishes and walks his dog around the lake, said he had heard from police at the scene that water would be pumped back.

“Apparently, it’s being left to refill naturally, which that lake can’t,” he said. “It’s a natural lake and was a lot smaller than that. The water level in there rose because the river (Roding) floods.

“It’s starting to smell and is unpleasant to look at.”

He added that he was worried for the welfare of the fish in the lake.

Dog owner Rosalyn Cain, 60, who walks past the lake nearly every day from her home in Chigwell, said: “If we have a drought, (the fish) are going to be in trouble.

“The fish are going to be spawning soon and when they spawn, they jump out of the water and jump over each other. How are they going to do that?

“The concern is for the fish and the diving birds. We have fishing birds like cormorants and grebes and they dive into the lake.”

A spokeswoman for Epping Forest Council, which owns the lake, said: "This is a murder investigation and at the moment we are in the hands of the police.

"Until they are able to hand control of the lake back to us, all we can do is work closely with the Environment Agency and the police to monitor the situation.

"Apart from helping the police investigation, our other obvious concern is the long-term health of the lake.

"Since we have never been faced with such a unique situation before, we are taking advice from the Environment Agency's experts who will be monitoring the quality of the water in the lake and taking any necessary action.

"We can't say right now how or when the water level in the lake will return to its original level but we will do everything we reasonably can to protect the animals and plants until it returns to normal."